1. What is realism, and when did it begin?

Answer: Realism is an artistic movement that started

in France in the 1840s.
2. What significant developments coincided with the emergence of realism? Answer: The
publication of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, Queen Victoria's reign, the American Civil
War, and imperialism.
3. Who founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and what were their aims? Answer: The
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was founded by a group of English painters, poets, and art critics
in 1848. Their aim was to revive art qualities such as moral seriousness and minute
representation of detail.
4. Which painting by Gustave Courbet is credited with ushering in the development of realism?
Answer: "The Stone Breakers" by Gustave Courbet.
5. Name some of the pioneering realist authors from France. Answer: Honore´ de Balzac,
Gustave Flaubert, Emile Zola.
6. Who were some of the pioneering realist authors from Russia? Answer: Fyodor Dostoevsky
and Leo Tolstoy.
7. Mention some of the pioneering realist authors from England. Answer: George Eliot, Thomas
Hardy, Anthony Trollope, Charles Dickens.
8. Who were some of the pioneering realist authors from America? Answer: William Dean
Howells and Henry James.
9. What scientific approach did the realists aim to apply to literature? Answer: A "truthful,
accurate, sincere, and objective representation of the real world."
10. What principles of Romanticism did the realists reject? Answer: Idealization, escapism,
subjectivity, and the fantastic.
11. Define positivism in the context of realism. Answer: Positivism is the view that all valid
knowledge must be based on empirical investigation and verifiability.
12. What does mimesis mean in the context of realism? Answer: Mimesis refers to the
representation of external reality, related to verisimilitude.
13. What is the study of how human beings acquire knowledge called? Answer: Epistemology.
14. How is pragmatism defined in the context of realism? Answer: Pragmatism is an approach
that evaluates theories or beliefs based on their practical application.
15. Define utilitarianism in the context of realism. Answer: Utilitarianism is the belief that actions
are correct if they benefit the majority or maximize happiness.
16. What does relativism propose in relation to knowledge, truth, and morality? Answer:
Relativism suggests that these concepts exist in relation to culture, society, or historical
context and are not absolute.
17. What were some strategies used by realists to achieve their objective? Answer: Descriptive
details, avoiding the fantastical, focusing on probable events, presenting characters from all
social classes.
18. How did realists view the individual in society? Answer: They saw the individual as a social
being.
19. What is the importance of direct observation and facts in realism? Answer: Realists
emphasized the importance of direct observation and facts to portray reality accurately.
20. How did realists present their narratives to readers? Answer: Realists "showed" their readers
rather than "telling" them, focusing on the plausibility of events.